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Ricin Discovery, Its Source
Unknown, Shakes Capitol

By

Joseph Schuman The Wall Street Journal Online

Updated Feb. 3, 2004 5:24 p.m. ET

Officials aren't yet sure how it got there, let alone who sent it. But the discovery of white powder thought to contain ricin in U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's office prompted the closing of three Senate buildings, the cancellation of today's scheduled hearings and a virtual shutdown of the Capitol's mail system. Officials voiced optimism that no one was infected, but the incident was an alarming reminder that two years after mail-dispersed anthrax spores panicked a country already reeling from 9/11, authorities show no...